Amad Diallo has named the one former Sunderland star that he is desperate to speak to after Manchester United progressed to the FA Cup semi-final.
Amad Diallo has long been appreciated in Sunderland, having netted 14 goals whilst on loan on Wearside last season. However, the appreciation hadn’t quite translated to Old Trafford.
The Ivorian’s appearances at Manchester United had been limited so far this term, until he was finally given the opportunity to make a difference as he was brought on late into their FA Cup quarter-final clash with Liverpool at the weekend.
With the game looking set to go to penalties, Amad had suddenly written his name into Monday’s papers when he slotted home past Caoimhin Kelleher to send the Red Devils to Wembley.
The 21-year-old was very quickly sent off for his celebrations and was forced to continue his delight in the dressing room, but he was joined by the entirety of Sunderland taking to social media to share their pride in their former loanee.
While Amad’s full focus will now be featuring in next month’s semi-final in the English capital, it appears he still had Sunderland in his mind even in his interview after the match.
The midfielder had to be told that United would be facing Coventry City next, to which Amad immediately confirmed he would be messaging one of his former Sunderland teammates ahead of the game.
Speaking in a post-match interview (as per manchester.united265 on TikTok), Amad said: “We play against Coventry? Oh, I will meet my ex teammate, Ellis Simms. I played with him at Sunderland last season. Yeah, I’ll message him!”
How are Sunderland coping without Amad & Simms?
Amad and Ellis Simms both joined Sunderland on loan last summer but only managed to start six games together before the latter was recalled by Everton.
The pair racked up 21 goals and five assists together during their time on Wearside, and while it is nice to see them both succeeding since, it is also quite a painful reflection on how much of a decline we have endured since.
Simms only spent half a season at the Stadium of Light and scored seven goals, while only one player in the entire squad has reached that tally in an extra two and a half months this time round (Jack Clarke).
Amad Diallo also made the sixth most successful dribbles in the Championship last season (62), with both Clarke (89) and Patrick Roberts (101) above him.
It was always guaranteed to be tricky replacing such a talent, but Amad’s absence has left a massive hole in the team and it is difficult to understand how we ever managed to cope without him before he even arrived.